Chapter: 143
Holy Maiden.
Aria Stigma Freeman.
Right now, she was really, really mad.
Just hours ago, she’d advised Kraush to take care of himself, yet here he was, dangling in Durandal’s hand, looking like a complete wreck.
While she hastily treated him, she almost said something but thought better of it. Looking at that face just made her heart melt.
“Ugh, I really hate this!”
She said words she didn’t mean and then leaned against the bed where Kraush lay.
That put his face right in front of hers—sharp eyes and a face that looked like it could use a bit of kindness.
Anyone else might say he looked mean, but for Aria, it was exactly her type.
Why is he my type?
With a grumbling sigh, she poked Kraush’s nose with her finger.
It wasn’t just his face that attracted her.
The real reason her heart kept straying toward Kraush was the way he treated her.
He didn’t care one bit that she was the Holy Maiden.
He acted like she was just an old friend and treated her like a person.
“Aria.”
His voice, deep and just recently out of puberty, was also quite appealing.
Sometimes he’d smile at her, and that smile would look so sad that she would just stare at him.
Why does he make that face at me?
That was why Aria constantly thought of Kraush.
Even though he could be a bit of a brat, she found herself laughing instead of getting mad.
“Can you believe how long it’s been since we met?”
In such a short time, how did she end up feeling this way about him?
I never thought I’d get a crush on him.
Pulling her hand away from his nose, she leaned in closer.
He definitely had a fiancée—a girl with white hair, like a little chick.
Aria could see that she’d grow up to be a stunning beauty.
And she knew that Kraush cared a lot about her.
“You like her too, don’t you?”
She sighed dramatically, holding the disappointment in her heart.
It was so disheartening that the guy she liked had a fiancée.
“Still, you promised you’d set me free.”
Gently, Aria cupped Kraush’s cheek with her hand.
“Well, if you’re letting me go, maybe you could switch my shackles for something nicer?”
It was ridiculous to expect too much from a boy she had only known for half a year, and Aria bitterly laughed.
“Oops, I didn’t mean to say that.”
As she muttered to herself and tried to get up…
However, she overestimated her own strength.
“Whoa!”
After using a lot of energy to treat Kraush, she lost her balance on her arm.
Just as she was startled and tried to stabilize herself, it was already too late.
Kraush’s face got right up in her space, and before she knew it, she had somehow ended up in his embrace.
Her heart pounded loudly against his chest.
Having no immunity to men at all, it was her first time being snuggled so closely and she was utterly flustered.
That was when she was caught off-guard and scrambling to understand what just happened.
Kraush’s hand suddenly lifted and naturally wrapped around the back of her head.
Before she knew it, she was fully embraced by him, her sunlit eyes wide open in shock.
Her face turned beet red.
Despite this, the warmth radiating from him and the faint smell of sweat from their earlier spar burned in her mind.
At that moment, Kraush’s eyes slowly opened.
He gazed at her blushing face, and for a moment, they both fell silent.
Aria was just as speechless.
Eventually, it was Kraush who broke the silence.
“Don’t just ambush someone while they’re sleeping.”
“W-Who ambushed?!”
Screaming, Aria shoved him away and bolted upright.
In a fluster, she tried to straighten her clothes and smooth back her hair.
The warmth still lingering on her body kept making her heart race, but she forced herself to suppress it.
“I just slipped while checking on you! And you pulled me into your arms!”
She rolled her eyes, shouting her defense as if it would magically make it true.
Knowing how Aria always acted like a spoiled brat, Kraush just shrugged it off.
“I treated you. Thanks.”
“…You don’t need to thank me. Just get back to normal and stop making such a mess of yourself.”
In Aria’s eyes, most of Kraush’s injuries were his own fault.
So, she urged him to be more careful, and Kraush just wrapped his arm around his wounds.
“Sorry, I can’t promise that.”
Kraush couldn’t say he’d never get in this state again.
He’d definitely keep pushing himself.
Without that, he wouldn’t be able to move forward.
“…”
Aria gazed silently at Kraush.
She couldn’t quite fathom his goals.
But she was getting the sense that he was deeply fixated on something.
And she realized that it was something she couldn’t talk him out of.
She opened her mouth to say something but then shut it again.
Instead, she looked directly at Kraush and said, “Keep that promise as well.”
Kraush turned to her with curiosity.
The promise she referred to was that he would seek her out first if he got injured.
For some reason, laughter spilled from Kraush’s lips.
“What’s so funny?”
When Aria made a pouty face, Kraush stopped laughing and replied seriously.
“Don’t worry. I will definitely keep that promise. The only one who can treat me is you.”
Aria bit her lip shyly as she turned away, unable to maintain eye contact.
That moment caused her earlobes to flush crimson.
“…You’re so unfair.”
Seeing Aria sulking, Kraush stood up, even though she suggested he should rest a bit longer.
Time was of the essence.
He had to prepare for his mission with the Knights as Durandal had accepted his proposal.
“I knew this would happen.”
At that instant, as Kraush opened the door, bright blue hair caught his eye.
The girl with two buns like dumplings raised her hands defiantly at her waist.
“I’ve already taken care of everything you were worried about, so just lie back down.”
None other than Sigrid Ephania.
Oh right, she was here.
“What about the task?”
“Did you think you wouldn’t get through all that chaos? I’ve already sent a mission request to Hardenhartz through the Knights. I might have borrowed your name, but I hope that’s not a problem?”
And why would it be?
This was exactly why having intelligent people around was a good thing.
Even just sitting around, they made sure everything was handled.
“I’ll jump into action as soon as the mission request goes through. Haring Lagrain and I have also let the Empire know we’re part of the Knights, so they can’t mess with us now.”
Was she seriously this competent?
Sigrid had essentially done all of Kraush’s heavy lifting.
“…How about you just become the Emperor?”
If Sigrid became Empress, it seemed like the Empire would be safe from ruin.
Sigrid snickered.
“Then the world would just become united under the Empire.”
That was arrogance with a different twist than Charlotte’s.
“And that’s not the right choice for you. I’m weak, my life’s short, and if the Empire depends on me, it’s going to start with my death and decline.”
Kraush understood why Sigrid had completely stepped back from the throne struggle.
She had been stepping aside for the Empire from the very beginning.
Even if she could have been wealthy and powerful, she couldn’t ensure eternity.
Once the temporary wealth faded, the Empire would inevitably find itself stuck in the past, crumbling away even faster.
Sigrid had considered all of this.
She judged it would be better for one of her family members to ascend the throne than for her to do so.
And then Arthur tries to claim the throne.
Hiding the White Dragon Seal, she had perhaps committed suicide.
Turns out, Sigrid was the one truly caring about the Empire.
But what would she think if she knew the empire she cherished had ultimately fallen?
“Well, who knows.”
Sigrid gave Kraush a playful glance.
“If a strong man is around, maybe becoming an emperor wouldn’t sound too bad.”
“A strong man won’t mean a thing if you’re dead.”
“Well, if I have a strong and clever child like me and a sturdy one like you, who knows? If I end up having ten kids, one of them just might be great.”
This one just said she was weak, but now she’s talking about having ten kids.
Is this Sigrid or someone trying to match her with Crimson Garden?
Kraush couldn’t help but think this.
Seeing this scene made him feel like anyone would think the same.
And this was a sight he was rather familiar with.
Well, Arthur always had girls hanging around him.
Just then, Kraush looked at Arthur with disdain.
Seriously?
He never expected to understand this situation so well.
